1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a product management system for managing the registration and/or history information of a product during a period from production of the product to disposal of the product.
2. Description of the Background Art
It is known to store product information on a product or article of manufacture using an Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag secured to the product, wherein identification information is communicated wirelessly from the tag. For example, Japanese patent application Laid-Open No. Hei 11-66445 describes an arrangement, as a conventional technology, in which identification information unique to a product, is stored in a product tag fixed to the product. In this disclosure, the product is an article of clothing. When the clothing is to be taken into a fitting room, identification information transmitted from the product is detected. Information in relation to the product based on the identification information thus detected is displayed on a display device provided in the fitting room. In this manner, the theft of the product taken into the fitting room is prevented.
Further, Japanese patent application Laid-Open No.2003-36485 describes a theft prevention system which detects when a product is taken from a store without payment. In this disclosure, a theft prevention tag is used for the theft prevention system which is produced at a low cost and is not easily seen so as not to mar the appearance of the product.
According to the technologies described in the Japanese patent application Laid-Open No. Hei 11-66445 and No.2003-36485, the theft of a product before being sold can be avoided. However, after the product is sold, the above technologies do not prevent the product from being illegally used by or dealt with a person other than a valid owner.
The present invention has been made in view of the above, and an object of the present invention is, therefore, to provide a product management system which detects whether the owner of a product which has been sold is valid, and thereby prevents the product from being illegally used by or dealt with a person other than a valid owner.